Île Bizard is one of the quieter and more rural corners of the City of Montreal, with a population of 14,000 people on a small island off the western edges of Montreal and Laval islands, and overlooking the Lake of Two Mountains and the distant prospect of Oka Park.
Far from downtown and close to the last remaining vestiges of rural life on the island of Montreal is a thumblike peninsula called Cap Saint-Jacques. Its beach, in a shallow bay on the western side, is the only natural sandy beach in the Montreal area.
Île-de-la-Visitation Park is the smallest of the nature parks in the Montreal area at 34 hectares. The park is composed of a shoreline along the Rivière des Prairies and a forested island, with several old buildings and ruins dating back more than a century.
The nature preserve on Nuns' Island is a little gem of natural preservation, with local birds, animals and plants finding a home there. A 26-hectare forest encircles a semi-artificial lake, the Lac des Battures, and forms part of the Lachine Rapids eco-territory.
On any weekend afternoon from spring till fall, you can saunter in Jarry Park and enjoy the pond, the fountain, the trees and the flowers, and appreciate the multicultural cross-section of people for whom this park is an urban refuge. And then in winter there's skating on the pond.
Named after Montreal's founder Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (1612-1676), Maisonneuve Park is a pleasant piece of green space in east-end Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. It offers plenty of room to walk, cycle or run, or simply laze under the trees on a hot summer day.
Parc Jean-Drapeau is one of the most interesting and varied parks in the Montreal area, visible from the Old Port, and full of old and more recent history. The park encompasses two islands of which Île Sainte-Hélène is a natural island and Île Notre-Dame is entirely man-made.
The jewel of Montreal's city parks is Mount Royal, which crowns the city with a natural tiara of greenery and trees, making it a favourite refuge from urban stresses. It offers a breath of air on a hot day, a spot for a picnic, cross-country ski trails in winter and two spectacular spots with views of the city.
Lafontaine Park is Plateau Mont-Royal's biggest park, and one of the most beautifully landscaped in the entire city. It features two linked ponds with a fountain and waterfalls, cultural venues, sports fields and much green space within its 40 hectares.
Angrignon Park is southwestern Montreal's biggest park, an unfussy expanse of green space with a long pond and plenty of trees, a quiet retreat from city noise but handy to the metro terminus that bears its name.
